Beefing sails



WASHINGTON F. DAVIS, OF IVIN'IHROP, MASSACHUSETTS.

REEFING SAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,969, dated April 7, 1857.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I,WAsHINGToN F. Davis, of Winthrop, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Reeng and Furling Topsails, which improvement may sometimes be employed to advantage on fore-and-aft sails; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompany- `ing drawings, of which- Figure l, denotes a rear elevation of a top sail wit-h my invention applied to it and its upper yard the top-mast, upper and lower yard being also exhibited in the figure. Fig. 2, is a front view of the same. Fig. 3, is a rear view of the same with the topsail reefed.

In these drawings, A, represents the topmast; B, the upper yards; C, the lower yard; and D, the top-sail. Where the said top-sail ,is to be reefed, I strengthen it with a reef band E, extending horizontally across it and above said band and in the top-sail I apply several horizontal ranges of gromets, eyes or eyelets a, a, a, &c., as shown in the drawings the same extending up to or nearly up to the upper yard. Reefing and furling ropes, F, F, fastened to the sail at the reef band, are carried upward through the several eyes ranging directly over one another. From thence, the said ropes pass respectively upward through the upper yard, and from thence are. carried along the same toward the middle of the yard or t op mast, where with two reef tackles G, G, they are made to descend through the yard as shown in Fig. l, and are united to one line or rope H, which may extend downward to the deck. The upper yard is applied to the topmast in the usual way and is supported and raised upward b-y a chain or rope I, which passes or works through the head of the topmast and is secured to the yard by branches as shown at I, I. Instead of applying gromets or eyes directly into the sail, they may be hung on one side of the sail, and instead of arranging the horizont-al rows of gromets or eyes at equal distances apart, I dispose them so that there shall be a less distance between those of each two rows than there is between the two sets of rows, the same being as shown in the drawings. In this way when the sail is reefed, the greater part of each plait if it extends in front of the yard-the remainder of the plait being covered by and entirely underi neath the yard so as to be protected by it from injury from ropes, etc., during the movements of the yard.

In order to reef the sail from the deck, the rope, I, should be set free, so as to allow the upper yard to be drawn downward. The rope, H, is then to be pulled on, and while it draws the upper yard down to ward the reef band, the reef band will be held up by the reeiing ropes and the sail folded in plaits against the yard. Thus the sail will not only be reefed but at the' same time it will be folded up by one set of lines. It will not, however be furled so as to require subsequent furling by manual labor applied to reef points in the usual way-but it Vwill be folded in plaits and closeup against the yard.

In do not claim reefing at eitherl the head or foot of a sail or topsail; nor do I claim reefing at the foot of a topsail by means of a series of bunt lines fastened to` the reef band and extended downward through gromets or guides, thence underneath the foot of the sail and thence upward on the front of the sail and to and through blocks or sheaves applied to the topmast, the said buntlines extending from thence to the vessels deck, for such is an old contrivance and a well known mode of reeing a sail. Nor do I claim the plans or methods of reefing as recently patented by William H. Foster and Isaac Boss, the topsail in them being reefed at its head, while all that part of the sail, which is below the reef band is held up by lines of suspension passing upward through blocks or sheaves directly supported by the topmast.,` the said suspension lines descending from thence to the deck. these plans, the upper yard is lowered down so as to reef the sail. The draft however, on the reeling lines operates, to a considerable ext-ent to prevent the descent of the yard.

In my arrangement, the reeng lines attached to the reef bands pass upward through the gromets or eye guides and the upper yard and thence toward the mast and are carried downward through the yard, without running through heading blocks or equivalents arranged at or in the head of the topmast. Thus it will be seen that the reef lines, under my arrangement are not suspended to the topmast, but fall directly from the upper yard so that when they are pulled downward they serve not only to draw up that part of the sail which is below the reef bands, but they also in connection with gromets brail or plait all that part of the sail which is above the reef band. They also serve to depress the yard and t-o support the sail across its entire width. Furthermore my particular arrangement of the reeiinglines is advantageous not only, over that wherein they are supported by a sheave or block at the topmast head, but that wherein the reefing of the sail is effected by buntlines extending under its foot as described, inasmuch as my arrangement does not require the lines to be so long as is necessary in either of the other methods (above mentioned) of arranging reefing lines. Thus I effect a great saving in the amount of ropes or lines required.

I would remark that in my arrangement, whenever a reeling line is carried through the upper yard it should run around a sheave or pulley suitably applied therein, or instead of running through the yard and over a -sheave it may be run through a batten aflixed through the yard or it may be carried through a block suspended from the yard.

I am also aware that reef tackles have been run along'the yard toward the mast and thence down through the yard toward the deck. Consequently I do not claim such, the reef tackles in such cases being used separately from the reefing lines, and for the purpose of drawing close up to the yard, the outer edges of the sail after it has been reefed. My arrangement I consider an improvement on those patented by the said Foster and Foss and in disclaiming their ar-v above the reef band or with respect Vto the upper yard as described in order that the sail when reefed shall at t-he same time be folded of pla-ited against the upper yard as specified.

2. I also claim the above described arrangement of the lines of gromets or eyes at unequal distances apart in manner as set' forth in order that the minor part of each fold of the sail may come underneath the yard, or the yard project beyond it as described, when the sail is reefed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 2nd day of January A. D.

WASHINGTON F. DAVIS. Witnesses:

R. I-I. EDDY, F. l?. HALE, J r. 

